Automatic billing system



THOUSANDS A Jan. 4, 1944.

c. L; GOODRUM ET AL AUTOMATIC BILLING SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 15,1953 12 Sheet s-Sheet 3 .GOODRUM INVEN TOR$:E. H/NR/CHSE N L.KE L LE RATTORNEY Jan- 4, 1944 c. 1.. GOODRUM ETAL AUTOMATIC BILLING SYSTEMOriginal Filed Nov. 15, 1935 12 Sheets-Sheet 4 t db:

CLGOODRUM IN VN TORS: EE. H/NR/CHSE N By L.KLLER $6M A T TORNE V 3' TAT/ON 19441 c. L. GOODRUM ET AL 2,338,636

AUTOMATIC BILLING SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 15, 1933 12 Sheets-Sheet 5MULTl-CONTACT RELAY EQUIPMENT Q B 0 g c LOODRUM //v VEN ram: E'E. H/NR/CHSE N By L K E L L E R ATTORNEY 1944- c. L. GOODRUM ET AL AUTOMATICBILLING SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 15, 1953 12 Sheets-Sheet '7 CLGOODRUMlNl EN 70951 E. EH/NR/C HSE N LKELLER @w'zx A T TORNE V 12 Sheets-Sheetl0 CLGOODRUM I wvsurozwEEH/NR/CHSEN By L.KELLE ATTORNEY C. L. GOODRUMETAL AUTOMATIC BILLING SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 15, 1933 Jan. 4, 1944.

Q 5: 3E 33x5 363 1944- c. 1.. GOODRUM ET AL 2,338,636

AUTOMATIC BILLING SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 15, 1933 12 Sheets-Sheet 11CON TROL FEED co/vr T PRINTE CONTROL CILGOODRUM WI/ENTOR EE. H/NR/CHSE NI L.KELLER A T TOR/VE r Jan. 4, 1944. c. GOODRUM ET AL AUTOMATIC BILLINGSYSTEM 12 Sheets-Sheet 12 Original Filed Nov. 15, 1933 .oom

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INVENTORS C L. GOOD/PUM E. E H/NR/CHSEN L. KELLER A TTORNE Y ukirOmcmmaohn Patented Jan. 1944 2,338,636 AUTOMATIC BILLING sYs'raM CharlesL. Goodrum, New York, N. Y., and Edward E. Hinrichsen, Pasadena, and LeoKeller, West Los Angeies, CaliL, assignors to Bell TelephoneLaboratories, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkOriginal application November 15, 1933, Serial No. 698,046, now PatentNo. 2,165,925, dated July 11, 1939.' Divided and this applicationDecember 8, 1937, Serial No. 178,636

8 Claims. (01. 235-815) This invention relates to automatic billingsystems and more particularly to a system adapted for use with telephonelines in which a continuous record of the details of calls made fromsaid lines-over a stated billing period operates a tabulating andprinting mechanism which produces a tabulated, computed and printed billfor the line to which said record appertains.

This application is a division'of our Patent 2,165,925 issued on July11, 1939, which describes the billing system as a whole, and iparticularly directed to the printing tabulator which operates from aprepared line record containing the complete data of each call made fromthe line over a defined billing period. The operations performed by theprinting tabulator, in response to the record, result in producing aprinted bill which may be forwarded to the subscriber.

Accordin to the above-mentioned patent the general principle upon whichthe invention operates is the making, upon a suitable medium, of arecord of each call by means of a recording mechanism common to a groupof lines. This record includes, for each call recorded, the date whenthe call wasmade, an identifying designation of the calling line, thecode of the called office, the number of the called station, theduration of the conversation, and such other items as are foundnecessary for billing purposes. This call record, in the preferred formof the invention, is made upon a wide tape somewhat of the size andcharacter of a player piano roll and the information recorded thereon isperforated by a punching machine having a plurality of magnets thatoperate simultaneously to punch th record across the tape. Sinceaccording to the. abovementioned patent, this perforating machine iscommon to a group of lines such as, for example, a group that terminateson a line-finder frame, the record strip or "primary tape produced bythis machine contains the perforations, in suitable code form, of allthe calls made by all the lines in the group. These call records are notgrouped with respect to each of the lines from which the calls weremade; rather they are recorded successively for each line in the orderor sequence in which the separate calls are made from the separate linesthroughout the billing period. The call records must then be sorted andassembled for each line in order that an individual record for each linecan be prepared and with which the printing tabulator covered by thepresent application can be operated to produce the printed bill. Theequipment for sorting the calls to produce an individual'record for eachline is shown and described in the above mentioned patent and comprisesa translator which has a suittable number of tape perforating machinescontrolled by it, there being, according to one preferred arrangement,one translator per callin line group with as many perforating machinesfor each translator as there are lines in the group so that a singlepassage of the primary tape strip through the translator will suflice tomake a separate and individual record for each line. Inasmuch as theprimary tape is in the form of a continuous roll having codeperforations thereon. the translator contains a series of pneumaticdevices which are responsive to theseperforations as the record of eachcall on the primary tape comes into alignment over the air channels ofthe pneumatic devices. The response of the translator to the code of theidentification number of the calling line causes the selection of theproper perforating machine, thus distributing the registration of thecall records to each of the separate recording machines correlated toeach of the different lines in the group;

Before passing the primary tape through the translator, however, it isnecessary to identify the so-called directory number of the calling linewith its line finder or terminal code number, the relation of which tothe directory number is purely arbitrary, and this is done by means of a"master record which is run through the translator ahead of the primarytape. This master record causes the translator to punch on each of theindividual line records to be prepared by the separate perforatingmachines the directory number of the line and such information as to theclass of service to which the line is entitled as is necessary for aproper computation of the bill.

Those pneumatic devices in the translator which respond to theperforations of the called ofiice code and the elapsed time of a callcontrol the operation of a computer which calculates the charge for thecall and determines whether or not the call is to be itemized on thebill. As soon as this computation is made, the charge and, if the callis to be itemized, the date, the oflice code and number of the callingline are punched on the line record by that perforating machine of thetranslator which was selected by the calling line terminal number. I

The passage of the primary tape through the translator thus produces aset of individual line records each of which, in the preferredembodiment of the invention, contains a record of local calls merely asindividual charges and toll calls in detail. The calls for each linewill. of course,

appear on these separate line records in the order in which they weremade and in a code suitable for the operation of the printin tabul tor-Inasmuch as the present application is directed specifically to theprinting tabulator, a clearer conception of its scope and purpose may beobtained from a consideration of the following drawings in which Figs.from 1 o 11, inclusive. arranged consecutively from le t to right withFig. l at the left end and Fig. 11 at the right disclose, broadly, aprinting tabulator which is arranged to operate in response to thecontinuous perforated record or "secondary" tape prepared by thetranslator shown and described in the parent patent. Fig. 12 is a timingchart ,indicating the operation of certain elements of the mechanism.

\The secondary tape will be assumed to contain a record of all local andtoll calls, for a billing period, made from the subscriber's line.Consequently when the tape is completed it is passed through theprinting tabulator, which is responsive to' the perforations denotingthe several calls. The tabulator, through its operation, adds up thelocal calls in the equivalent number of local charge units and printsthe total charges therefor on what may be called the "local servicecharge bill. It further prints an itemized list of all toll calls.

As already indicated, the printing tabulator herein described andclaimed uses a pneumatic system for controlling the electrical elementswhich operate in response to the perforations on the secondary tape.This pneumatic system comprises a series of valves each adapted tocontract the movable member of a pair of bellows. normally kept inflatedby air at atmospheric pressure, when the valve is lifted by atmosphericair entering a valve chamber that is kept at a partial vacuum. Thecollapse of the bellows controls the operation of a signaling device.And, of course, when the supply of outside air is cut off by thesecondary tape covering the aperture through which the air is admitted,the valve chamber is again reduced to a partial vac uum, the valve isreseated in the chamber roof, the bellows are again expanded and thecontacts carried thereby to close the circuits of the signaling deviceare opened, leaving said device under the control of a separate lockingcircuit. Accordingly, this pneumatic system further has a tracker barwith atmospheric openings connected to a number of pneumatics (valvechambers) equal to the number of punch positions on the secondary tape,while the motor control of the feeding mechanism is made responsive tothe presence of the tape roll on the surface of the tracker bar.

Figs. 1 to 11, inclusive, illustrate the presence of the secondary tapeacross the tracker bar of the tabulator. There 'are sixty-fourpneumatics to correspond with the sixty-four punch positions of thesecondary tape. Most of these pnemnatics control relays each having acontact assembly which, separately or in combinaaasaoao tion withcontact assemblies of other pneumatically controlled relays of the codegroup which records a particular item of information, controls theresponsive circuits of the printing tabulator as more particularlydescribed hereinafter. The tracker bar I is shown extending across Figs.1 to 11, inclusive, with the secondary tape IN threaded over it. In Fig.11 is disclosed a sprin depressed rocker arm H02 which carries a rollerII08 he1d lightly in the groove H04 of tilt. the arm H02 and therebycause the closure -of contacts H05, H55 and H56.

The closure of contacts H06 closes the circuit of the tape feed motorcontrol H01, said circuit being controlled through the left backcontacts of relay llll, which is normal at this time, operating the mainshaft motor (not shown) for rotating the takeup roll by means of whichthe tape is advanced across the tracker bar. The closure of contacts H56closes the circuit of tabulator motor control I I5I which rotates theshaft I08 tosupply power to the tabulating elements of the mechanism ashereinafter described. The tape IOI is thus advanced across the face ofthe tracker bar I00, bringing-successive rows of call perforations intoalignment over the tracker bar holes. The feed control mechanism H01includes a take-up roll for advancing the tape, which is operated by amotor the circuit of which is closed by contacts H05 and the leftcontacts of relay III I. This roll has mounted thereon (or upon anysuitable shaft geared thereto) cams I 3i and H08, the former controllingthe battery contacts I26 and the latter the ground contacts Hi0. Cam I3| is so designed that when the record tape is fed across the trackerbar, contacts I26 are closed from the time a row of perforations on therecord tape is substantially aligned over the holes of the tracker barso as to expose said holes to the atmosphere, to the time when therecord tape is advanced to a position a little before the perforationsof the next row begin to uncover said holes to the atmosphere, at whichtime said contacts open and do not close again until said holes arepartially uncovered by said perforations. Cam I I08, on the other hand,is so designed that contacts I I II) are closed to supply ground overthe left contactsof relay H09 only during the of a rotation of said rollto be when a row of perforations is substantially aligned over the holesof the tracker bar, then contacts Hill are closed for a quarter of arevolution of the shaft, at which position the perforations will havebeen advanced well past the tracker bar holes, which are then closed tothe atmosphere. Shaft I08 operated by the motor of the tabulator controlH5I, need not be operated at the same speed as the take-up roll, but maybe operated at any suitable speed. For the purpose of illustrating theoperation of the invention. however, it will here be assumed that thespeed of the shaft and that of the take-up roll are the same.

Looking at the tap from left to right, the

tors, one for each letter.

The coded information therein recorded, therefore, is in the followingorder:

Called office codepositions 1 to 15, inclusive gg'fi a g ig figg}positions 16 to 35, inclusive Toll charges--positions 36 to 47,inclusive Datepositions 48 to 58, inclusive Local chargespositions 59 to64, inclusive The general principle controlling the operation of theprinting tabulator is:

(A) The setting of the appropriate letter wheels and counters in thecase of toll calls for printing (1) the letter code of the called officeand the number of the called subscriber; (2) the money charge therefor;and (3) the date;

(B)v The setting of the appropriate counters in the case of local callsfor adding up the total number ofminimum local charge units for allcalls beyond the minimum of such charges allotted to a subscriber for abilling period and at stated rate units which may diminishwith the totalunits used.

The printer mechanism of the tabulator can be conveniently divided intotwo parts, one part responsive to the toll entries which are 'to beprinted on a slip of paper as entered, and the other part responsive toth local service units which are added successively.

Referring now to the above-mentioned Figs. 1 to 11, inclusive, each ofthe pneumatics responsive to each of the punch positions 1 to 5,inclusive, operate multi-contact relays I09, H0, HI, H2 and I33. Thesepneumatics operate in response to the code perforations in thesepositions which indicate the first letter of the called office name.

As pointed out in the above-mentioned patent, the code perforationspunched in positions 1 to 5 correspond to the five-unit code of thefirst letter representing the called oflice name and since, generallyspeaking, this letter may be any one of the twenty-six letters of thealphabet, the pneumatics operate in such combinations as to ground anyone of twenty-six different conduc- These conductors are extended to thetwenty-six separate segments of the commutator H3. Since, however, theletters Q and Z are generally not used in office names. the conductorswhich extend to segments Q and Z of the commutator may be omitted ifdesired. The distributor brush H5 and the letter wheel H8 are mounted onsleeve I32 and normally do not partake of the rotational movement ofshaft I08, as described hereinafter.

In order to describe how the setting of the letter wheel H8 is effected,consider the operations of that part or the apparatus which is shown inFig. 1. When the secondary tape is attached to the tracker bar I08 andthe contacts II 08 of the feed control apparatus I I01 are closed and,as a result thereof, the tape is advanced to the position where theperforations of the first call are aligned over the correspondingtracker bar openings, then if we assume for illustration that the calledoffice name is Halifax, ther will be holes punched in positions 3 and 5to desi nate the letter H in accordance with the following code:

Digit or letter 9 designation Under these circumstances pneumatics Illand H8 will collapse and cause their respective battery-carrying springsconnected to the movin bellows to swing downwards and engage theirstationary contacts connected to the windings of their respectiverelays. As a result, an obvious circuit is completed for relay H0 andalso for.

relay H2 whereupon these relays operate and close their multicontactassemblies. In particular, they close their respective No. 1 contactsets to common conductors H9 and I28, locking each of these relays togrounded battery through contacts I28 which are closed at thi time. Aeircuit is now completed which extends from ground over the No. 5contact set of multicontact relay H2, No. 5 contact set of multicontactrelay H0,

conductor I20, to commutator segment H.

Now the letter wheel H6 and brush H5 are mounted on sleeve I32 which ismounted loosely on shaft I08 that is constantly driven by the tabulatorcontrol II5I at the speed of the tape take-up roll controlled by thefeed control mechanism IIIlI. Thus, the turning movement of the shaftwill not actuate the sleeve I32 until it is brought into positiveconnection therewith. The connection of the sleeve with the shaft I08 iseffected by means of a clutch I2I comprising the clutch teeth on wheelH8 cooperating with the teeth on disc III splined on the shaft I08 sothat it will slide on the shaft and turn therewith. This clutch member,however, is effective only in one direction of rotation thus avoidingany reversal of movement and permitting the opera- .tion of themechanism at high speed and without objectionable vibration. The springretracted armature I23 of the clutch control magnet I22 is in the formof a bell crank the dependent arm of which is suitably connected to thehub of the clutch disc H4 so that when the control magnet is energized,its armature will be attracted toward the magnet the movement of whichwill carry the' clutch disc connected therewith into locking engagementwith the letter wheel H8. The operation of relay III] or H2 also closesa circuit for relay I24 in series with the clutch magnet I22, whichcircuit extends from ground on the No. 2 contact set of either relay,winding of relay I24, contacts of grounded conductor relay I25, clutchmagnet I22, contacts I28, to grounded battery. Magnet I22 operates andthrows the revolving clutch disc Ill into engagement with the letterwheel I I6. Relay I24 opcrates and locks through its contacts in serieswith the magnet I22. The control of the letter wheel by magnet I22 thuestablished by the operated pneumatics is maintained notwithstanding therelatively brief duration of the pneumatic contact assembly closureswhich are operated only during the alignment of the punched holes overtheir associated tracker bar channel openings. Further, the previouslyI20 traced through the contact paths of the operated multicontactrelays, is also undisturbed by the reinflation of the pneumatics and theconsequent opening of their respective contact assemblies since themulticontact relays H and H2, originally operated by the collapse of thepneumatics, are now locked under the control of contacts I26 independentof the contact assemblies carried by the pneumatics. The magnet circuitis looked under the control of the contacts of relay I25 and contacts I26 the latter of which break the circuit simultaneously through magnetI22 as well as other magnets, as described hereinafter.

In the meanwhile, the engagement of the clutch disc Ill with the letterwheel IIB imparts movement to the latter. Since, however, thedistributor brush II of the commutator is connected to wheel IIB throughsleeve I32, the movement of the Wheel, when engaged with'the clutch,also imparts movement to the distributor arm. As the wheel revolves,successive letters on its periphery are advanced to face the sightposition (not shown) and, at the same time, distributor brush H5 isrotated over the successive segments of commutator II3. When the letterH on the tape wheel is advanced to the sight position, the distributorarm is in contact with commutator segment H whereupon a circuit isclosed which extends from grounded battery through the winding of relayI25, commutator ring I 21, distributor brush I I5, commutator segment H,conductor I20 to ground on the No. 5 contact of relay I I2 as previouslydescribed. The operation of relay I25 opens the circuit of clutch magnetI22 and relay I24 causing both of them to release. The release of magnetI22 throws out the clutch disc Ill which disengages the letter wheel,causing it and the distributor brush II5 to remain at rest in theposition at which they were stopped, that is, with the letter H on theperiphery of the letter wheel in the sig t position and the distributorarm in contact with segment H of the commutator. In the meanwhile, asthe letter wheel I I6 rotated, gear I29 rotated with it. This gearconnects with the type-setting mechanism of the printer (not shown) sothat the positioning of the letter wheel of the general type shown inPatent 285,710 simultaneously positions the corresponding printing wheelfor the subsequent printing of the first letter designation of the call.The setting of the printing mechanism is accomplished in any suitablemanner and hence is neither shown nor further described herein 'exceptto mention that, with the operation of relay I25, a path is closed whichextends from the printer control terminal T to conductor I30 which, asdescribed hereinafter, loops to other letter and numerical wheelmechanisms in order to complete the printer control circuit when all ofthe letter and numerical wheels have been set in response to the otherperforations of the record.

The letter wheel H0 has now been set to conform with the coderegistration. of the first letter or the called offlce name and whilethe shaft I08 continues to revolve after the disengagement of theclutch, the position oi. this wheel remains undisturbed. A little beforethe tape record begins to uncover the tracker bar openings with theperforations oi the next call record, cam I3I causes contacts I26 toopen and unlock multicontact relays H0 and H2 which then release.

Simultaneously with the positioning of letter wheel H6 01' the firstletter of the office code, all other wheels involving the remaining twoletters as well as those comprising the called number and date, aresimilarly and simultaneously set. Shaft I08 is continuous and carriesall the clutch discs for driving other indicating wheels. For thepurpose of not encumbering this specification, only those wheelcombinations which are electrically or structurally different from theone described will now be described in detail while the others will bebriefly indicated.

Fig. 2 shows, at 200, the letter wheel mechanism for the second letterof the code and at 20| the letter wheel for the third letter of thecode. Each of these wheels is set at the same time as letter wheel I I6of the first letter since the perforations of one call record all becomealigned over the tracker bar openings simultaneously. Further, since thesecond letter of the office name is A, the code of which calls forperforations in punch positions 6 and 7, the operation of themulticontact relays (not shown) which are responsive to the operation ofthe corresponding pneumatics causes a ground to be extended to conductor202 which, through the operation of relay 204, stops the letter wheel208 with letter A on its periphery on the sight position. At the sametime relay 204 extends the path from the printer motor control terminalT to conductor 206.

In the same way, the letter wheel 209 for the third letter of the codeis rotated until the letter L is in the sight position at which timeground on conductor 203, connected thereto by the operation ofmulticontact relays responsive to the pneumatics which operate in thepositions that correspond to punch positions 12 and 15 for the code ofthe letter L, closes a circuit to operate relay 205 which opens thecircuit of th clutch magnet, stops the letter wheel and associateddistributor brush from any further rotation and further extends theprinter control path to conuctor 201. The position of the three wheels,in their sight positions, now display HAL to conform with the directoryname of the called ofiice, while the printer types geared to theseparate letter wheels are set to the corresponding letter positions.

Fig. 3 shows in detail the electromechanical apparatus which controlsthe setting of the thousands digit wheel. It comprises one multicontactrelay for each pneumatic, a numerical wheel 30I with each of the tendigits designations on its periphery, a fixed commutator 3| 0 and thedistributor brush 309, all mechanically arranged as the similarcombination shown in Fig. 1.

If w assume the number of the called subscriber of any one call recordon the tape to be 3678, then when the record advances to the point wherethe holes punched for the code of the digit 3 become aligned over thetracker bar positions 3,

the pneumatic 305 operates in response to a perrotation in position 18for the code of the digit 3. (The code of each of the other digits beingapparent by tracing each of the conductors extending to the digitalsegments of the commutator 310 to ground on one of the relays 3I2, 3",300 and 31 I.) An obvious circuit is closed for relay 303 which, onoperating, locks through its No. 1 contact set to grounded battery onconductor I20. A path is further closed which extends from ground overthe normal contact of the a No. 3 contact set of relay 3| I, thealternate contact of the No. 3 contact set of relay 300, the normalcontact of the No. 4 contact set of relay 311, the normal contact of theNo. 5 contact set of relay 3l2, conductor 301 to segment 3 on commutator3i0. At the same time a circuit is closed which extends from ground onthe No. 2 contact set of relay 306, conductor 3l4, winding of relay 302,back contact of relay 304, winding of magnet 303, to grounded battery onconductor I28. Relay 302 operates, locks to ground on its contacts whilemagnet 303 operates, engages the clutch disc 3l3 with the number wheel30l and rotates it until the numeral 3 on its periphery is in the sightposition, at which time distributor brush 309 will have been rotated tosegment 3, whereupon a circuit is closed which extends from groundedbattery through the winding of relay 304, commutator ring 308,distributor brush 303, commutator segment 3, conductor to ground aspreviously traced thereto. Relay 304 operates, closes another contact inthe chain path of the printer control terminal T, opens the circuit ofmagnet 303 and relay 302 causing th latter to unlock and the former todisengage the clutch disc' 3l3 from wheel 30!. As a result, thenumerical wheel remains in the place where the numeral 3 appears in thesight position. Just prior to the advance of the tape to the next seriesof punched holes into alignment over the associated tracker bar holes,cam interrupter l3l breaks contacts I26 whereupon grounded battery isremoved from conductor I28 and multicontact relay 306 is released. Thetabulator has thus positioned the thousands wheel for the first orthousands digit of the called subscribers number and the printer hasbeen similarly positioned through gear 310.

' Punch positions 20 to 23 control pneumatics which are responsive tothe code perforations of the hundreds digit of the called subscriber'snumber while punch positions 24 to 27 control pneumatics which areresponsive to the code perforations of the tens digit of said number.The equipment and controlling circuits which set the correspondingnumber wheel mechanisms 400 and 0 are the same in both cases'as that forthe thousands digit already described, and are therefore butdiagrammatically indicated in Fig. 4. Since the hundreds digit of thecalled number is 6, requiring a perforation in punch positions 20 and22, the operation of the multicontact relays (not shown) which areresponsive to the pneumatics in these positions causes ground to be,connected to conductor 40l which extends to the sixth segment of thecommutator, causing thereby a positioning of the wheel to display thenumeral 6. In a substantially similar manner, ground is connected toconductor 402 by the operation of the tens pneumatics when they respondto the code perforations of the digit 7 in punch positions 24 and 27.The printer control perforations of the units digit and to those of thestation's letter. The equipmentand'controlling circuits which set thecorresponding number wheels 300 and H0 in each of these cases are thesame as those for the thousands and hundreds digits and are, therefore,but diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 5. For setting num ber wheelmechanism 300, conductor GM is grounded in response to operations whichresult from the perforations in positions 29 and 30 for the digit 8.This causes the wheel to be set in the sight position for the digit 8.On the other hand, wheel SM is not disturbed since it has been assumedthat the called number does not have a stations letter. Z

The pneumatics in Figs. 6 and 7, operative in punch positions 36 to 47,inclusive, are responsive to the perforations of the codes whichdesignate the total money charge for a. toll call. Punch positions 36 to39, inclusive, designate the dollar charges and, through the operationof the control circuits responsive to the operations of the pneumaticsin these punch positions, cause the setting or the dollar wheelmechanism 600 to correspond to dollar charge designated by the codeperforations in said positions.

Punch positions 40 to 43, inclusive, designate the tenths of a dollarcharge and, through the operation of the control circuits responsive tothe pneumatics in these punch positions, cause the setting of the tenthsof a dollar wheel mechanism M0 to correspond to the tenths of a dollarcharge designated by the code perforations in said positions. r

Punch positions 44 to 47, inclusive, designate the cents charge. In thiscase, however, only the 0 and the 5 setting is necessary on anyparticular call since toll calls are only charged for in five-centincrements. Hence the pneumatics responsive to the perforations in thesepositions respond only to the 0 or 5 code, each response groundingconductor 10! or 702, respectively, for setting the cents wheel I00either to the 0 or tothe 5 position.

As already mentioned, the mechanism for printing the toll charges isdriven by the three separate gears controlled by the wheels 300, M0 andI00, respectively. This mechanism may take the form of a separate tapewheel of similar construction to the wheels shown and, of necmsity, willtake the same setting as each of the separate wheels when positioned fora particular toll charge.

It should be noted, however, that, according to the above mentionedpatent, if the assumed call is completed within the local area, therewill be no perforations on the tape between positions 36 to 47 and alsonone on the other previously discussed positions reserved for the calledofllce code and number, and also none in positions 48 to 58, inclusive,presently to be discussed. In fact, the only perforations made for a.local call are those punched in positions 59 to 64, inclusive, and haveto do with the charge codes, in local service units, as explained in theabove mentioned patent.

Punch positions 48 to 51, inclusive, shown in Fig. 8, designate the codeof the month in which the call was made. The electromechanical equipmentwhich responds to the pneumatic operations in these positions is thesame as th at reviously described for any of the digits of the callednumber except that the wheel 300 carries twelve indications on itsperiphery, one for each inclusive, are responsive, respectively, to thecode l Punch I positions Month 1 48 January 49 February 50 March 51 Aril 48, 49 ay 48, 50 June 48, 51 July 49, 50 August 49, 51 September 610 bar 48, 49, 50 November 48, 50, 51 December If it is assumed that thecall to Halifax 3678 is a toll call and was made on July 17th, holes arepunched in positions 48 and 51 in response to the code for this month,whereupon the corresponding pneumatics and multicontact relays operateand ground conductor 805 which, by operations corresponding to thosealready described, causes the wheel 800 to stop when the designationJuly on its periphery has been revolved to the sight position. Gear 804,turning with wheel 800, sets'the printer type to correspond with themonth designated by the setting of the wheel 800, while the operation ofrelay 803 stops the letter wheel from further rotation and advances theprinter control path from conductor 103 to conductor 802.

Perforations made between punch positions 52 to 58, inclusive, in Fig.9, designate the day of the month when the call was made; punchpositions 52 to 54, inclusive, designating the tens subdivision of themonth and punch positions 55 to 58, the units subdivision. The mechanismshown in Fig. 9 comprises a number wheel 900, a tens commutator 90I withits associated distributor brush 903, and a units commutator 902 withits associated distributor brush 904, the brushes 903 and 904 and wheel900 being connected by sleeve 928 which is normally loose on shaft I08.The tens commutator is divided into three segments, one for each tenssubdivision of the month, and the units commutator into thirtyonesegments, one for each day of the month. The first segment of the tenscommutator has a circular length equal to that of the first tenssubdivisions of the units commutator, the second segment a circularlength equal to the second tens subdivisions, while the third segmenthas a circular segment equal to the last eleven subdivisions. To thefirst segment is connected conductor 9 I which extends to a contact onrelay SIS; to the second is connected conductor 9" which extends to acontact on relay 901 while to the third segment is connected conductor9I8 which extends ,to a contact on relay 9I9.

Now the call Halifax 3678 was assumed to have been made on theseventeenth day of the month and the code perforations designating theseventeenth day consist of a hole in position 53, one

in position 55 and a third in position 58. Consequently when theperforations of the call record are aligned over the tracker baropenings,

pneumatics 92 9, 908 and 808 operate and, in turn, cause the operation,of relays 901, 908 and 808. respectively, over obvious circuits, whichrelays lock over their respective No. 1 contact sets to 5 groundedbattery on conductor I28. Over their respective No. 2 contact sets,ground is applied to conductor 9I0 which causes a circuit to be closedextending from ground on said conductor, winding of relay 9I I, backcontact of relay M2, 10 winding of clutch magnet 9I3 to grounded batteryon conduct r I28. Relay 9 and clutch magnet 9I3 operate, the formerlooking through a circuit including its own contacts and the latterthrowing the clutch disc into engagement with the numerical wheel 900thus causing it to rotate with the shaft I08. As the wheel rotates,distributor brushes 903 and 904 sweep over the surface of theirrespective commutators. Since, however, a circuit over one of theconductors connected to the separate segments of commutator 902 can onlybe completed by the application of ground to conductor 920, which isdone through the operation of relay 9, distributor brush 904 can beeffective only in completing the circuit of relay 9l2 if relay 9 isoperated. The circuit of relay 9I4, however, is completed only when thedistributor brush 903 has advanced to the beginning of that segment ofthe commutator which has grounded battery connected to it. For instance,the call being illustrated, having been made on the seventeenth, andrelay 901 having been operated in consequence of the perforation of thecode for the tens subdivision of the month, grounded battery isconnected to conductor 9 I 1. Hence while the distributor brush 903 ison the first segment, that is, while distributor brush 904 is on any oneof the first ten segments of its own commutator, relay 9 remains normal.When, however, the shaft rotates to the point where distributor brush903 makes contact with the second segment, at which time distributorbrush 904 makes contact with segment 11, a circuit is closed whichextends from ground through the winding of relay 9, commutator ring 928,distributor brush 903, second segment of commutator 90I, conductor 9I1,No. 3 contact set of relay 901 to grounded battery. Relay 9 operates,locks over its right contact to grounded battery on conductor I28 whileover its left contact it connects ground to conductor 920. When theshaft rotates to the point where distributor brush 904 engages segment17 a circuit is. completed which extends from grounded battery throughthe winding of relay 9I2, commutator ring 92I, distributor brush 904,conductor 922, alternate contact of the No. 6 contact set of relay 908,normal contact of the No.5

contact set of relay 921, the normal contact of the No. 4 contact set ofrelay 923, the alternate contact of the No. 3 contact set of relay 909,conductor 920, to ground on the left contact of relay 9 I 4. Relay 9 I 2operates, extends the printer control path from conductor 802 toconductor 924, opens the circuit of magnet 9l3 which releases and throwsthe clutch disc out of engagement with the wheel 900 thereby causing itto come to rest with the numeral I1 on the periphery in the sightposition. In the meanwhile, gear 925 has rotated with wheel 900 to setthe corresponding printing mechanism for printing the numeral I1.

This concludes the setting of the tabulator for items which are to beprinted as a part of a toll call and consisting of the called ofllcecode, the numerical designation of the called line, the toll closed thecircuit is completed to the Printer con- I .a,3es,csecharge in dolars'anclcents and the date on which Y the call "was made.

- As already mentioned, the operation of relay 9I2 closes anothercontact of the Printer control path extending this path to conductor 02.This conductor terminates in one contact III! of a manual switch H40.When these contacts are trol schematically indicated in Fig. 11, fromterminal T therein cross-connected to terminal T at the contact of relayI25, thence extended by the operation of relays such as I20 aspreviously described, through the series circuit above describedextending to conductor 024, contacts II and H49 to the other side ofsaid Printer control equipment. The printing apparatus of the tabulator,having been set in accordance with the setting of the wheels, theprinting circuit controlled through the Printer control which includesthe platen operating magnets for the toll charges is now operated tocause the various items to be printed in accordance with the indicatorwheel and printer settings.

Just before the row of perforations of the next call begins to uncoverthe tracker bar holes, cam I3I opens contacts I26, the effect of whichis to remove battery from conductor I28 unlocking thereby all the relayslocked thereto in preparation for the resetting of the wheels for thenext call.

In case the record of a call is that of a local call, there are noperforations whatever in any of the punch positions between 1 to 58,inclusive. In this case, the only perforations in the record are thosebetween positions 59 to 64, inelusive, all of which constitute therecord, in code form, of the number of local charge units to be assessedfor the call. In such an event the only part of the tabulator which isresponsive to the perforated record is the integrating local chargecomputer, diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. and 11. I

In order to describe the operation of the integrating computingmechanism which is responsive to the code of a local charge and whichfurther integrates all the local charges appearing onone secondary tape,it will be assumed that the call Halifax 3678 represents a local callfor which a charge of eight local service units is to be made. Further,and in order to understand the arrangement of the computing mechanism,it is desirable first of all to indicate briefly what functions are tobe accomplished by said mechanism.

According to the most prevalent telephone charge and billing practicewith respect to what are known as message rate subscribers, telephonerates in large metropolitan areas are computed on the basis of anallowable defined maximum number of local calls for a given billingperiod and for a stipulated minimum charge. Beyond this defined numberof local calls, the remaining local service charges are computed at arate per unit which diminishes with the total units used. For instance,subscribers may be allowed a maximum of sixty-five calls per month for acertain monthly charge of, say, $4.00 a month. The next one-hundredcalls may be charged at the rate of five cents each, the next hundredafter that at four and one-half cents, the next hun-. dred at four centsand next hundred at three and one-half cents. Therefore, the integratnigmechanism of the printing tabulator which controls the associatedprinting apparatus for printing the total local charges for abilling'period must be responsive to the several discriminations in therate structure. Hence the computing mechanismdisclosed in thisspecification for adaptation to the commercial printing tabulator isarranged to (1) add up the required number of local charges thatcorrespond to the number allowed over the billing period for thecontracted minimum billing charge; i2) eliminate these charges from anyfurther consideration since the charge for these calls is, presumably, apart of 10 the printed bill-form; (3) to add up the required number ofcalls beyond the allowed maximum, compute the charge at the prescribedrate for each given numberof calls at the prescribed rates, and thencause the printing mechanism to print the total charges so computed.

Referring now to Figs. 10 and 11, it will be seen that there are fourcommutators, viz., I022, I0, I023 and I034. To the segments ofcommutator IOI4 are connected the marking conductors which extend to thecontacts or the relays I005, I049, I050, and I05I. These relays operatein response to the operation of the pneumatics controlled by theperforations of the units digit code of the total charge for a call. The

'25 ground to any of these conductors is controlled through the leftback contact of relay IIOI by way of conductor I I00 and furthercontrolled over contacts of the relays above mentioned, 'so that whenthese relays operate, either singly or in combination in response to theunits code of a local chargejground is extended to any one of theseconductors.

The wiring organization of the pneumatically controlled unitsmulticontact relays is identical with that of the pneumaticallycontrolled relays shown in Fig. 3 and therefore is not shown in detail.Commutator I023 is the tens commutator. Since, in the present embodimentof the whole invention as disclosed in the parent patentaboveidentifled, the rate structure assumed limits the maximum number oflocal charges for the longest local call to 14, there is but oneconductor extending from the tens multicontact relay I062 through theback contacts of relay M to the number 1 segment of commutator I023.

In this connection it will be observed that two punch positions 59 and60 on the tracker bar are reserved for the tens designation of the localcharges, and two pneumatics I002 and I003 are provided to respond tocorresponding perforations on the tape. However, inasmuch as thedisclosure of the present embodiment of the invention is predicated uponthe assumption that the total local charge units for any one call isfourteen, it is only necessary, as described hereunder to provide butone signal to indicate the difference between a call having less thanten charge units and one having more. A perforation in position 59, forinstance, indicates that the total charge units for the call is lessthan ten while a perforation in position 60 indicates that the totallocal charge unit is more than ten but less than twenty. Should it benecessary to modify the mechanism to indicate a greater number ofcharges, say more than twenty but less than thirty, both perforationscould be utilized to give this indication and the pneumatic equipmentresponding thereto and the electromechanical equipment controlledthereby could easily be modified to provide a corresponding control ofthe call recording apparatus whose number of revolutions, in registeringthe total call units for any call, depends, of course, upon the maximumtotal for which the equipment is designed. In the description whichfollows,

ill

therefore, no use is made of pneumatic I002 which operates when thetotal charge units is less than ten but pneumatic I003 is utilized whenit responds to a perforation in position 60 to indicate a total chargeunits of more than ten but less than twenty. The perforation in position59 and the equipment responding thereto have been disclosed in thepresent embodiment of the invention to show the ease with which theinvention may be modified and expanded to include a record of as manylocal charge units as desired, it being evident that position 59 can becombined with position 60 and with other positions if necessary to givethe record of the number of charges.

Commutator I022 is a feeding mechanism and its relation to the rest ofthe computing apparatus will become apparent from the description of theoperation which follows.

Assume, first, that the number of local charge units to be assessed forthe call is eight. Since the total of these charges is less than ten,pneumatic I002 is operated in punch position 59 although, as alreadyexplained, it performs no useful function. The units pneumatics I053 andI048 operate in response to the code perforations in punch positions 62and 63, respectively, for the units digit 8 causing thereby theoperation of relays I050 and I040 which lock to grounded battery onconductor I 28 in the same manner as the operation and locking ofpreviously described pneumatically responsive multicontact relays.Therefore a path is extended from ground on the left back contacts ofrelay IIOI, conductor II00, through a normal contact of relay I005,alternate contacts of relays I049 and I050 and a normal contact of relayI05I, (not shown) conductor I006 to segment 8 of commutator IOI4. In themeanwhile the operation of relays I049 and I050 further closes a circuitfrom ground on contacts IIIO which are controlled by cam II08 carried byor geared to the record tape take-up roll and timed to close contactsIIIO when the perforations are fully aligned over the tracker baropenings and slightly beyond, left contact of relay II 09, conductorIII3, contacts of relay I049 or I050, conductor III2, right outer backcontact of relay II right back contact of relay IIII, conductor III4,winding of start magnet IOI3 to grounded battery. Now commutators IOI4and I022 are fixed but their respective distributor brushes IOI5 andI020, which occupy relatively similar positions on their respectivecommutators, are keyed to the shaft I0 I 9 which further engages withmain shaft I08 through friction clutch I0 I 6 Shaft IOI9 also carriesgear IOI6 which is permanently meshed with gear IOI1. When, therefore,magnet IOI3 operates by the closure of the above circuit and the stopcontrolled thereby is raised, the shaft IOI9 is freed to be driven bythe friction clutch IOI8. Both distributor brushes begin to revolve withthe shaft IOI9 away from their normal segments, brush I020 moving fromits normal segment I06I and brush IOI5 moving from the No. 10 or normalsegment while gear IOI6 also revolves and causes the rotation of gearIOI1 which at this time, however, performs no useful function. Also, thedistributor brush I020, in rotating to its off-normal its segment I02Icompletes a circuit for relay I I I I which extends from groundedbattery through the winding of said relay, conductor III5; outer ring ofthe commutator I022, distributor brush I020, inner ring of saidcommutator, to ground. Relay IIII operates and, through its inner frontcontact, connects shunt ground to one side of the winding of relay IIOI.When distributor brush I020 reaches its normal segment I06I the shunt isremoved causing relay Il0I to operate in series with relay IIII andperform functions noted hereinafter. The circuit path for relay IIOI istraced from battery through the winding of relay IIII, right innercontacts of said relay, winding of relay IIOI to ground through theright contacts of relay H09. Relay IIII also prepares a locking path forrelay III9 which operates as hereinafter described. At its left contact,relay I I II opens the feed control circuit of device I I01 'to arrestthe advance of the tape until the record of the call has been tabulated.At its right outer back contact relay I I I I opens the circuit of startmagnet I013 thereby causing the release of said magnet which is then ina position to re-engage the stop latch of shaft I0 I 9 at the end of onerevolution of shaft IOI9.

When the distributor brush I0 I 5, in the course of its rotation,reaches segment 8, the ground connected thereto by conductor I006completes a circuit through the distributor brush and commutator feed,winding of clutch magnet I031 to grounded battery, and in paralleltherewith over conductor I021, winding of relay III9 to groundedbattery. Relay I I I9 operates and looks over the right back contact ofrelay II09 to ground thus locking magnet I031 in its operated position.Magnet I031 causes the disc of clutch I025 to engage the disc on theshaft of gear I026. This gear now rotates and causes the rotation ofgear I028 which is permanently meshed with it. Gear I026, being nowmechanically coupled to shaft IOI9 rotates in unison with thedistributor brushes IOI5 and I020.

It will be observed that distributor brush IOI5 sweeps past two segmentsof the commutator before it contacts with segment 8, and that afterpassing this segment, ground is removed from the circuit of clutchmagnet I031. The magnet, however, does not release at this time it beingheld over the ground that locks relay I I IS, the clutch disc I025remaining engaged with the gear I026 and making eight-tenths of arevolution by the time the distributor brush IOI5 has rotated pastsegment 1.

It is further to be noted that when gear wheel I026 makes one completerevolution for every complete revolution of the distributor brushes IMF:and I020, gear wheel I028 which has a reduction gear ratio with respectto gear wheel I026, will make one tenth of a revolution equalingone-tenth of the monthly local calls allotted for the stipulated monthlyrate. For instance, if the number of local charges allowed per monthwere to be then the ratio of gear I028 to gear I026 would be 10 to 1.Hence, if the call being registered represents a charge of eight localservice units, gear I026 revolves eight-tenth of a revolution and gearI028 revolves eight one-hundredths of a revolution in the registrationof the eight call charges.

When the distributor brush I020 has made one complete revolution andagain engages its normal segment, the short circuit around the windingof relay IIOI is removed, causing said relay to operate in series withrelay IIII a already described. At its left front contact, relay IIOIclosesan obvious circuit for relay II 09 which opens the looking circuitof relay III9 and that of clutch magnet I031 whereupon said magnetreleases and disengages the clutch I025, causing both gears I026 andI028 to remain in the position to which they were advanced. Relay II 09also opens the

